Twitter to DM FA Cup highlight packages to international fans

Twitter is experimenting with a new way of directly distributing FA Cup highlights to football fans outside the UK.

Fans in 10 markets can register to receive match action featuring six top English teams by private message. From the third round, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur clips (up to 30 seconds in length) will be shared with fans in Africa, Americas, Asia and the Middle East.

Fans will be prompted to subscribe to highlights from one of the aforementioned teams – and will be sent notifications and footage during and after games. If their team is knocked out, fans are invited to subscribe to watch other teams.

Twitter is free to release up to four highlights per half, each lasting up for 30 seconds. At midnight after the game, two minutes clips will be shared, and at midday following a 10-minute package.

The platform expects to grow this means of video distribution next season with more team and market deals to expand the reach of the competition. In particular, the Football Association wants to raise awareness of the competition in US, India, Thailand, Brazil, Egypt and Nigeria.

Georgina Lewis, head of marketing at FA, said: “Worldwide interest in The Emirates FA Cup is greater than ever. The partnership with Twitter is vital to ensure the competition remains at the forefront of fan engagement and ensures that fans across the world have live access to some of the biggest fixtures, regardless of their daily schedule or location. This approach fits within our overriding strategy to be innovative in delivering experiences in line with how modern fans are consuming sports media and want to engage with the competition in the future.”

Bruna Zanin-Juresic, sports partnerships at Twitter UK, added: “We are thrilled that fans around the world will have a new way to follow the Emirates FA Cup this season, directly through Twitter. The Football Association have always been incredibly innovative in their use of the platform, so it felt like a natural fit to partner with them to give fans unprecedented access to one of the most prestigious knockout competitions in global football.”

Highlights packages, such as Goal of the Round, will also be promoted on the Emirates FA Cup Twitter feed.